Ananta Insights | Islamabad MOU and Pakistan: An Analysis | August 2026
Background The Memorandum of Understanding (called “Islamabad MOU” text at Annex 1) between Iran and the United States, signed on June 17, this week completes 45 days of its stipulated 60-day period. Apart from formalising the ceasefire, it laid down mutually agreed-upon conditions for de-escalation through a pathway for negotiations on more contentious issues to […]
Ananta Insights | Ali Hosseini Khamenei (1939-2026): An Objective Assessment | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | July 2026
Introduction For a start, it suffices to say that Ali Hosseini Khamenei was either the President of Iran (1981-89) or its Supreme Leader (1989-2026) for 45 years of 47 years of its existence as the Islamic Republic. Thus, contemporary Iran bears his hallmarks all over: as a theocracy, a politico-social ecosystem, an economy under siege […]
Ananta Insights | Unchartered Countdown to the Next Knesset Election | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | June 2026
Introduction Despite a saturated media coverage on Israel’s current security overdrive and its muscular foreign policy, not enough attention has been paid to their fountainhead, viz., the domestic political ecosystem. The decision-making elite in Israel influences the regional dynamic, and in turn, is influenced by external, mainly American, persuasions. Instead of episodic media coverage of […]
Ananta Insights | A Geopolitical History of Persian Gulf | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | May 2026
The global attention is currently riveted on the current double impasse over the Persian Gulf at its Strait of Hormuz choke point. Although the ongoing US-Iran conflict has its unique drivers and context, the Persian Gulf has a five-millennia-long history of geopolitical jostling among the concerned stakeholders, including the first Western capture of the Strait […]
Ananta Insights | Early Implications of the Iran War | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | April 2026
The Iran war, triggered on February 28 by the US and Israel, is currently under suspended animation, with an unofficial ceasefire in place since April 8. The first round of talks between the US and Iran in Islamabad on April 11-12. were inconclusive, and the second round has not yet been scheduled. Despite vigorous efforts […]
Ananta Insights | Middle East’s Other War: Israel – Hezbollah Scrimmage | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | March 2026
While the global attention is currently riveted on the war being waged by Israel and the United States against Iran, the Middle East is also facing an equally vicious, no-holds-barred conflict between the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) and the Hezbollah militia of Lebanon. While the second conflict is seen by some as a corollary of […]
Ananta Insights | Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland: A Backgrounder | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | February 2026
Introduction: Somalia and its proto-statelets, viz. Somaliland and Puntland have been sporadically in the news over the past 35 years – mostly for the wrong reasons. They have faced protracted political instability and uncertainty, recurring famines, scourges such as terror and piracy, as well as underdevelopment and misgovernance. 2. Geopolitical Importance of Somalia: […]
Ananta Insights | Riyadh- Abu Dhabi Rupture: Seven Decades of Recurring Frictions | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | January 2026
The Latest Incident: On December 30 2025, the Saudi Air Force bombed two Emirati ships unloading military hardware at Mukalla port in Hadhramaut province in southern Yemen (please see Map 1 below). The cargo was apparently destined for the forces of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), a separatist militia supported by the UAE, although the […]
Ananta Insights | The New US National Security Strategy: Implications for the WANA Region | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | December 2025
Introduction: A month ago, the White House unveiled a new National Security Strategy (NSS). This 33-page document formally encapsulates, for the first time during Donald Trump’s presidency, a vision for Washington’s foreign policy in general and security doctrine, in particular. During the first 11 months of his second presidency, Trump has pursued a highly personalised […]
Ananta Insights | UNSCR 2797 Nudges Western Sahara Dispute Towards a Solution| | Ambassador Mahesh Sachdev | November 2025
On October 31 2025, the United Nations Security Council adopted a US-sponsored resolution on the Western Sahara, creating a pathway based on Morocco’s autonomy initiative of 2007 to begin negotiations for a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution to this half-century-old decolonisation dispute. It was passed with 11 votes in favour, Russia, China and […]